What would a non-indigenous psychedelic religion look like?
The Rastas, Sufis, Sadhus (cannabis) Bwiti (ibogaine) Native
American Church (peyote) UDV and Santo Daime (DMT + harmaline) have all
integrated drugs into their religious practice with encouraging results. Conversely in the west no such
institution has emerged and survived long enough to earn legal standing and
exemption from drug-laws. To be
exempt from federal law members of the Native American Church must be at least
25% native although some states allow non-natives to participate.
In fact several hundred small North American, European and
Australian groups have formed celebrating psychedelic spiritual communion but
none have emerged strong enough to unify Huxley’s three generations of post
Hiroshima psychedelians – and this is a shame. But the United States Supreme
Court has approved the use of Peyote for Native Americans and Ayahuasca
(DMT/harmaline tea) for all people in the Santo Daime. What other psychedelic religions might
the future bring?
1.
Psychoactive use is a basic human drive behind
food, drink, sex and sleep – a fifth drive
– also many if not most animal species also get “altered” sometimes
2.
Hydraulic drugs like cocaine, alcohol,
amphetamine, heroin, tobacco etc. stimulate the brain temporarily and often
become the focus of addiction, whereas holotropic (growing towards wholeness)
drugs like LSD, psilocybin, mescaline, DMT, ketamine, can help the brain heal
and change it indefinitely, MDMA and cannabis sit on the fence between hydraulic
and holotropic. With one dose in
well-adjusted, spiritually ambitious people about 2/3 will experience a peak
mystical experience regarded as the greatest or one of the greatest of their
lives. (replicated, peer-viewed,
double-blind, active placebo, independent raters for psilocybin)
As I discussed in my last blog “serotonin and original sin”
using any hydraulic drug daily for more that four months may permanently
dysregulate the system(s) the drug is working on. Not only do holotropic drugs satisfy the fifth drive
for altered states but also there is considerable evidence that they can help
“reset” the brain after long-term hydraulic drug use. Take the animal
and human addiction research with ibogaine - http://www.ibogaine.desk.nl/ch01.pdf
and the human research with ketamine http://www.maps.org/research/ketamine/krupitsky_2002.pdf.
Those addicted to ketamine of course will have to take
ibogaine but for all other classes of addicts from alcohol to xylophones clients
should be given one to three sub-anesthetic doses with a male and female
therapist.
Phase
|
One
|
Two
|
Three
|
Diagnosis
|
Addiction, Anti-Social Personality Disorder, with or
without Psychopathy, coercive paraphilia
|
Death Anxiety, PTSD, certain forms of depression and
personality disorder, many psychosomatic conditions and paraphilias, creative
problem solving, spiritual experiences and those who successfully complete
phase One
|
Those who have completed at least phase Two
|
Treatment
|
One to three Ketamine or Ibogaine sessions with a male and
female therapy team
|
One to three MDMA sessions with a male and female therapy
team
|
One to six full spectrum psychedelic experiences (LSD,
Mescaline, Psilocybin) with a male and female therapy team
|
That’s the clinical use of psychedelics that I see unfolding
over the next thirty years, but once clients have completed therapy they may
choose to join a psychedelic religion like the Ayahuasca, Peyote, Cannabis,
Ibogaine groups or they may choose to start their own.
I am doing a second printing of Shamanic Graffiti if you are interested in this demented, debased
and debauched subject matter – 30$ for the hardcopy – 10$ for the digital – or
with my pay what I say program replacing my pay what you can program 10$ -
